General Article
February 6, 2015
Canadians win right to die in Historic Supreme Court Ruling
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
Today, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a unanimous decision, confirmed that Canadians have the constitutional right to choose physician assistance in dying. The BC Civil Liberties Association is overjoyed by the Supreme Court’s ruling. This is a tremendous victory for the protection of human rights and compassion at the end of life. This means […]
January 15, 2015
Euthanasia campaigner and suspended doctor Philip Nitschke tries his hand at comedy
Jill Poulsen, The Courier Mail
Voluntary euthanasia campaigner and suspended doctor Philip Nitschke has announced his career is about to take a comedic turn. Dr Nitschke will make his stand-up comedy debut in August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has teamed up with British comedian Mel Moon to write and deliver the show they are calling Comedy with Purpose. […]
January 15, 2015
Euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke loses legal battle to practice medicine
Prominent euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke has lost a legal battle to protect his registration to practice medicine after a tribunal ruled he posed a serious risk to the public and could undermine confidence in the medical profession. But Dr Nitschke has vowed to appeal the decision by the Northern Territory Health Professional Review Tribunal, saying […]
November 28, 2014
Precedent cited in Philip Nitschke case overturned
Amy Corderoy, The Sydney Morning Herald
A controversial ruling that a doctor has a duty to help strangers who are not their patients has been overturned in the Supreme Court. The decision has the potential to change the way doctors are expected to behave in emergencies, and might have ramifications for euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke, who has been suspended for failing […]
November 21, 2014
Ethical duty to rescue: court of appeal
Much discussion followed the 2013 decision Medical Board of Australia v Dekker [2013] WASAT 182, a conduct matter following an incident in which a practitioner failed to stop and render assistance after a ‘near miss’ incident involving her motor vehicle and a second motor vehicle. For that earlier decision see http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/wa/WASAT/2013/182.html In a judgment delivered […]
November 21, 2014
AMA is out of step with the community by opposing voluntary euthanasia
Terry Sweetman, The Courier Mail
POPE Francis was preaching to the immovable last week when he declared assisted suicide was a symptom of a “throw-away culture’’. But opinion polls suggest that, like the Catholic ruling on contraception, injunctions against voluntary euthanasia might increasingly be more honoured in the breach than the observance. The Pope doggedly called on doctors to take […]